Illegals May Get New Chance to Legalize

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Before September of 2001, many immigrants and visitors were looking forward to some new policies that would allow their legalization as immigrants. After terrorism concerns took over, many lost hope, but Republicans have put the issue back on the table.

Several Republican Congressmen are calling for legislation that would both regulate incoming foreign workers and also possibly legalize millions of illegals already here in the United States. Arizona Republicans Senator John McCain, and representatives Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake, introduced bills in July that would, over several years, grant green cards to foreign workers who enter the country legally as well as to illegal workers already present in the country. Senator John Cornyn, a Texan Republican, also introduced a guest worker bill last month. While liberal advocacy groups claim the measures would not benefit immigrants enough, conservatives farther to the right are crying foul; they believe the bills go too far. Meanwhile, White House officials remain neutral, and it isn't predicted that these bills will pass this year.

One thing that critics on both sides agree on is the significance of the proposals: They represent the first real effort regarding immigration reform since talks between President Bush and President Vicente Fox of Mexico came to a halt following the terrorist attacks of September 2001.

Bush and Fox had been engaged in serious planning for long-term strategies to regulate immigration from Mexico and legalize the status of millions of undocumented Mexican immigrants already in the United States. The plan was popular with Mexians, though not always with other immigrant groups who felt left out. It was also well received among big businesses, key political constituencies for the Bush administration. "To have Republicans stepping up and proposing these important but imperfect bills," said National Immigration Forum head Frank Sharry, "is something of a breakthrough." "To me, it's the post-9/11 signal that it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when we're going to legalize more migration so that we can better regulate it," Sharry added.

McCain said he anticipates that the plans will be attacked from "both ends of the spectrum" and that the legislation will face more than a few political obstacles. Immigration advocates said that the bills are inadequate in terms of safeguarding workers and that they create an overly complex and laborious legalization process. On the other end of the spectrum, Republican Tom Tancredo, Rep. Colorado, has referred to the plan as an outright attack on our nation's borders. "It's really amnesty on the installment plan," said Tancredo, leader of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, which advocates a reduction in immigration. "They are even more ambitious in their amnesty proposal than some of the Democrats I've seen. We have to watch this carefully."

McCain and other supporters of the proposals pointed out that a number of illegal immigrants are doing jobs that Americans refuse to do and that legalizing such workers would help many businesses. They are also hoping that the legislation would help stop the abuses some illegal immigrants suffer, as a result of being under the radar. Many die crossing the desert, or face abuse at the hands of smugglers and employers who grab every opportunity to exploit them. "We all know it is an issue that must be addressed," McCain said in a telephone interview. "The status quo is no longer acceptable. This starts the debate." The bills would allow the number of worker visas to be issued, to be determined by the current worker needs. Jobs listed on a Labor Department registry for two weeks, that are not filled by Americans, would be given to immigrant guest workers. Thereafter, the jobs would be posted as openings once every three years to reopen the opportunity for Americans to have first dibs on them.

Foreigners with a permanent address abroad and a temporary work visas could also apply for legal permanent residency after three years of working in the United States. Illegal immigrants already in the country would, after paying a $1,500 fine, have to wait three years before applying for permanent residency with employer sponsorship, six years without employer sponsorship. "We will be able to funnel 99 percent of the currently undocumented population through ports of entry, where they can be documented, screened and monitored to give the U.S. a better understanding of who is living within the nation's borders," Kolbe said in a Tucson speech last week.

Cornyn's bill proposes that undocumented immigrants receive guest worker status with employers sponsorship, but they would be required to return home after three years. Once there, an applications for permanent residency would receive priority from the US government. Democrats argue that Cornyn's bill would separate families as workers are required to leave the United States to apply for their green cards. Cornyn is pleased that the measure had stirred debate, because it means the measures are being taken seriously, and being talked about. They are definitely on the table, and still hot.

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